The Secret of the Three Cities: An Introduction to Hindu Sakta Tantrism. by DouglasRenfrew Brooks; Ritual and Speculation in Early Tantrism: Studies in Honor of Andre Padoux.by Teun GoudriannReview by: Glen A. HayesThe Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 53, No. 4 (Nov., 1994), pp. 1287-1288Published by: Association for Asian StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2059294 .Accessed: 04/09/2014 11:18

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BOOK REVIEWS-SOUTH ASIA 1287

shared by many medical officers. Finally, the threat from epidemics to the British arriving in India in larger numbers after 1857 also focused attention on medical intervention by the state. At a time when the health of the larger Indian population was relatively unexplored, the army and the jails became key sites of medical observation and intervention. However, Arnold qualifies the "enclavist" argument by contending that the medical gaze was not restricted to the army, the jail, and the British community, but extended to some sections of the larger Indian society, though not as extensively as the defenders of colonialism claimed.

Arnold's analysis is fresh and interesting because it moves beyond some scholars' tendency to depict Western science, technology, and medicine as nothing more than "tools" of colonial interests. Arnold offers a much more nuanced exploration of the colonizing process and incorporates the varied response of Indians to medical intervention. These responses included: the complete rejection of Western medicine; overt hostility against postmortems and vaccination; rumors about doctors being involved in conspiracies to exterminate Indians; hospitals and other medical buildings being set on fire; Gandhi's characterization of colonial hospitals as "institutions for propagating sin"; and the Indian elites' scathing critique of the medical establishment for not having done enough for the population. As Arnold argues, "Indians were often active, and not just passive participants" and "the colonizing processes of colonial medicine could never find their fulfillment in colonial hands alone" (p. 294). In due course, India's emerging elites were to take up Western medicine as part of their own hegemonic project.

Arnold contributes substantially to a better understanding of the multitextured nature of the colonization process. The narrative is extremely readable and enjoyable. For unlike some scholars writing on colonialism, Arnold's work is not overburdened either by gratuitous doses of arcane neologisms or predictable meditations on "alterity" and the "othering" process.

ZAHEER BABER National University of Singapore

The Secret of the Three Cities. An Introduction to Hindu Sckta Tantrism. By DOUGLAS RENFREW BROOKS. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1990. xx, 307 pp. $47.50 (library cloth edition); $18.95 (paper).

Ritual and Speculation in Early Tantrism: Studies in Honor of Andre Paddux. Edited by TEUN GOUDRIANN. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992. xv, 359 pp. $16.95.

The Secret of the Three Cities, provides us with a clear and concise introduction to the fascinating and complex realm of Hindu Tantrism. Douglas Brooks raises basic issues concerning how we approach the study of Tantra and how we locate it among Hinduism in general, and provides as a case study a major Hindu Tantric tradition, that of the Srividya movements worshiping the goddess Lalita Tripurasundarl. The first part surveys major characteristics of Hindu Tantrism while the second contains

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1288 THE JOURNAL OF ASIAN STUDIES

a fine translation of a commentary by the guru-scholar Bhaskaraya (c. 1728-50) upon the pithy Tripurd Upanisad. Overall, Brooks has combined good critical scholarship with a guided tour of a venerable and profound Tantric masterpiece.

Ritual and Speculation in Early Tantrism, while, not easily accessible to the nonspecialist, contains twelve insightful articles dedicated to a pioneering scholar of Tantric studies, the renowned French Indologist Andre Padoux. Edited by another leading scholar in the field, Teun Goudriann, this volume examines the fundamental relationship between ritual action and philosophical speculation in a variety of Tantric traditions, primarily those from the Saiva schools. Some of the issues considered by the international group of scholars include: divinization of the human being in ritual, the roles of mantras and Sanskrit vowels in meditation, dualism versus nondualism, development of yogic systems, and historical antecedents to certain Tantric beliefs and practices.

While Brooks provides us with a useful introduction to Tantrism, Goudriann and his colleagues have provided us with detailed glimpses into some of the more specialized aspects of these intriguing traditions. In conclusion, both works should be regarded as major steps forward in our understanding of the history of these important pan-Asian movements.

GLEN A. HAYES Bloomfield College

Sanskrit Criticism. By V. K. CHARI. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1990. xiv, 302 pp. $35.00.

The stated goals of V. K. Chari's book are to profile all the major critical concepts in Sanskrit literary theory, to see how these concepts stack up against Western literary criticism, and, finally, to prove that rasa theory provides a superior and universal critical "template" with which to discuss literature in general and poetry in particular. This is a rich volume, but it tries to do too much, and the extreme density of Chari's writing style obliterates the book's richness at times. More often than not, readers will find themselves struggling to slash their way through long passages of Chari's occasionally impenetrable prose, but there are tangible rewards for the effort. The midsection of the book is lucidly written, and upon reaching chapter 5, titled "Modes of Meaning: Metaphor," readers will feel that they have suddenly tumbled into a cool, clear lake.

Chapters 5, 6, and 7 form the true heart of the book, and are what make it worthwhile. In particular, chapter 7, titled "Style and Meaning," contains an excellent characterization of historical trends in writing on aIakdra and Sanskrit arguments over definitions of what constitutes "poetic language." In general, style in Sanskrit (riti) is well discussed. For example, there is a wonderful summary of Kuntaka's ideas on stylistic analysis, and this is where Chari shines: he has brilliantly brought together diverse quotes from rhetoricians such as Kuntaka and Dandin in a cogent and interesting way. Chapter 8 also contains an invaluable summary of mFmrmsd theories of language.

Chari presents a good discussion of Bharata's theory of the emotions in chapter 4, but this is where the book's larger problems lie, as well as in its opening chapters. Chari's case for rasa, that "poetry is better defined by its evocatory aim" (p. 2), is overstated and, in a sense, the author is putting the cart before the horse. While

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http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jspArticle Contentsp. 1287p. 1288Issue Table of ContentsThe Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 53, No. 4 (Nov., 1994), pp. i-vi+1073-1376Volume Information [pp. ]Front Matter [pp. ]Editor's Note [pp. 1075]Presidential Address: Five Voices from Southeast Asia's Past [pp. 1076-1091]Ancient Inner Asian Nomads: Their Economic Basis and Its Significance in Chinese History [pp. 1092-1126]Scientific Empire and Imperial Science: Colonialism and Irrigation Technology in the Indus Basin [pp. 1127-1149]A Place in the Nation: Yangzhou and the Idle Talk Controversy of 1934 [pp. 1150-1174]Language and Politics: The Reversal of Postwar Script Reform Policy in Japan [pp. 1175-1198]Communications to the Editor [pp. 1199-1203]Book ReviewsAsia GeneralReview: untitled [pp. 1205-1206]Review: untitled [pp. 1206-1207]Review: untitled [pp. 1207-1209]Review: untitled [pp. 1209-1210]Review: untitled [pp. 1210-1212]Review: untitled [pp. 1212-1213]Review: untitled [pp. 1213-1215]Review: untitled [pp. 1215-1217]Review: untitled [pp. 1217-1218]Review: untitled [pp. 1219-1220]Review: untitled [pp. 1220-1222]Review: untitled [pp. 1222-1223]Review: untitled [pp. 1223-1225]Review: untitled [pp. 1225-1226]China and Inner AsiaReview: untitled [pp. 1227-1228]Review: untitled [pp. 1228-1230]Review: untitled [pp. 1230-1231]Review: untitled [pp. 1231-1233]Review: untitled [pp. 1233-1234]Review: untitled [pp. 1234-1236]Review: untitled [pp. 1236-1237]Review: untitled [pp. 1237-1239]Review: untitled [pp. 1239-1240]Review: untitled [pp. 1240-1242]Review: untitled [pp. 1242-1243]Review: untitled [pp. 1243-1245]Review: untitled [pp. 1245-1246]Review: untitled [pp. 1246-1247]Review: untitled [pp. 1247-1249]Review: untitled [pp. 1249-1252]Review: untitled [pp. 1252-1254]Review: untitled [pp. 1254-1256]Review: untitled [pp. 1256-1257]Review: untitled [pp. 1257-1258]JapanReview: untitled [pp. 1259-1260]Review: untitled [pp. 1260-1261]Review: untitled [pp. 1261-1263]Review: untitled [pp. 1263-1265]Review: untitled [pp. 1265-1266]Review: untitled [pp. 1266-1268]Review: untitled [pp. 1268-1269]Review: untitled [pp. 1270-1271]Review: untitled [pp. 1271-1272]Review: untitled [pp. 1272-1274]Review: untitled [pp. 1274-1275]Review: untitled [pp. 1275-1276]Review: untitled [pp. 1276-1278]Review: untitled [pp. 1278-1279]Review: untitled [pp. 1279-1280]KoreaReview: untitled [pp. 1280-1281]Review: untitled [pp. 1282-1283]Review: untitled [pp. 1283-1284]South AsiaReview: untitled [pp. 1285-1286]Review: untitled [pp. 1286-1287]Review: untitled [pp. 1287-1288]Review: untitled [pp. 1288-1289]Review: untitled [pp. 1289-1291]Review: untitled [pp. 1291-1293]Review: untitled [pp. 1293-1294]Review: untitled [pp. 1294-1295]Review: untitled [pp. 1296]Review: untitled [pp. 1297-1298]Review: untitled [pp. 1298-1299]Review: untitled [pp. 1299-1300]Review: untitled [pp. 1300-1301]Review: untitled [pp. 1301-1303]Review: untitled [pp. 1303-1305]Review: untitled [pp. 1305-1306]Review: untitled [pp. 1306-1308]Review: untitled [pp. 1308-1309]Review: untitled [pp. 1309-1310]Review: untitled [pp. 1310-1311]Southeast AsiaReview: untitled [pp. 1312-1313]Review: untitled [pp. 1313-1314]Review: untitled [pp. 1314-1316]Review: untitled [pp. 1316-1317]Review: untitled [pp. 1317-1319]Review: untitled [pp. 1319-1320]Review: untitled [pp. 1320-1322]Review: untitled [pp. 1322-1324]Review: untitled [pp. 1324-1326]Review: untitled [pp. 1326-1327]Review: untitled [pp. 1327-1329]Review: untitled [pp. 1329-1330]Review: untitled [pp. 1331-1332]Review: untitled [pp. 1332-1333]Review: untitled [pp. 1333-1334]Review: untitled [pp. 1334-1337]Review: untitled [pp. 1337-1338]Review: untitled [pp. 1338-1339]Review: untitled [pp. 1340-1341]Film and Video ReviewsReview: untitled [pp. 1342-1343]Review: untitled [pp. 1343-1344]Erratum [pp. 1344]Other Books Received [pp. 1345-1353]Obituary: Wing-Tsit Chan (1901-1994) [pp. 1354-1356]Obituary: Herrlee Glessner Creel (1905-1994) [pp. 1356-1357]Obituary: Lauriston Sharp (1907-1993) [pp. 1358-1359]Back Matter [pp. ]